Snowball maker and launcher



Aug. 9, 1960 R. D. SMITH 2,948,275

SNOWBALL MAKER AND LAUNCHER Filed Aug. 20, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4-1- NX x 'I 2 z I I I I 9 g I 4 a 2 INVENTOR N BY fi If, -u ATTORNEY Aug. 9,1960 R. D. SMITH SNOWBALL MAKER AND LAUNCHER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug.20, 1958 m m N m m m v z W m m A 5 M R .r n wm q Q U 6. mm m ww TMJ m Lmm... NM Q m mm -1- k v a N* N @N .m\ vh $.w TIM/L. Dn ai r \hbm. I mwmm W hm 2,948,27 SNOWBALL MAKER AND LAUNCHER Robert D. Smith, Box 67,Maple'Drive, Iroquois, Ontario, Canada Filed Aug. 20, 1958, Sel. No.756,144

5 Claims. 01. 124 z7 tion to provide a manually actuated pump mechanismfor moving a mass of snow rearwardly of the launcher barrel and forthereafter compressing the mass between a part of the pump mechanism andthe head of a plunger mechanism, while said pump mechanism is alsofunction ing for retracting the plunger mechanism, so that when the pumpmechanism is again displaced forwardly of the launcher barrel, theplunger mechanism will remain in a retracted cocked position with thecompacted snow mass directly in advance. thereof ready to be propelledfrom the launcher upon release of the plunger mechanism.

.Still a further object of the invention is to provide a launcher of theaforedescribed character having novel means for moving a piston elementof the pump mechanism to a seated position in a recess of the launcherbarrel, in which position said piston element will not obstruct movementof the compressed mass as it is projected from the launcher.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafterbecome more fully apparent from the following description of thedrawings, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, andwherein:

Figure l is a top plan view of the launcher;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section-a1 viewthereof, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 22of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 with certain of the partsdisposed in different positions from the positions thereof as seen inFigure'2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken through thelauncher, substantially along the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figures 5 and 6 are cross sectional views of the launcher, takensubstantially along planes as indicated by the lines 55 and 6-6,respectively, of Figure 2;

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view takensubstantially along a plane as indicated by the line 7-7 of Figure 3;

Figure 8 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the launcher takensubstantially along a plane as indicated by the line 88 of Figure 2, and

Figure 9 is an enlarged top plan view, partly in section, of one part ofthe pump mechanism, shown removed from the launcher.

"as the description proceeds it will be readily apparent Patented Aug.9, 196,0

that the launcher could be constructed to simulate a hand weapon such asa pistol or revolver. The launcher body 11 includes an elongated barrel14, constituting one end thereof, a stock 15, constituting the other endof said body 11, and a receiver portion 16 which is interposed betweenadjacent ends of the stock 15 and barrel 14.

As seen in Figures 2 and 3, the launcher half 12 has an inner side orface 17 which is disposed in abutting engagement against a correspondinginner side or face 18 of the other, right hand, launcher body section13. Said halves 12 and 13 of the launcher body 11 are secured togetherby fastenings 19 which extend through abutting portions of said innerfaces 17 and 18.

The barrel 14 has a substantially circular bore 20 extending fromend-to-end. thereof and which opens outwardly of the forward end of thebarrel 14 at the muzzle 21. Corresponding halves of the bore 21) areformed byeach body section 12'. and 13. Said body sections 12 and 13have downwardly extending transversely spaced guide portions 22 whichare disposed beneath the barrel 14 and which form an elongated slot 23which is open at its bottom and which opens upwardly into the bottomportion of the bore 20. The guide portions 22 have opposed upper guidegrooves 24 and lower guide grooves25, which open into the slot 23.

The receiver 16 of the launcher body has an elongated longitudinallyextending chamber 26 which is provided with arestricted opening 27 atits forward end, which opens into the rear end of the bore 20. Thereceiver 16 has a recessed portion 28 disposed beneath and extendinglongitudinally of the chamber 26. The recessed portion 28 has an opening29 at its forward end which opens upwardly into the forward end of thechamber 26 and adownwardly extending opening 30 at its rear end whichopens outwardly of the bottom of the receiver. The receiver 16 is alsoprovided with a socket 31 which opens upwardly into the bottom of therecessed portion 28, near the forward end thereof. A drain bore 32extends downwardly and rearwardly through the receiver 16 from the rearend of the chamber 26 and opens outwardly of the underside of saidreceiver. The portions 26 to 32 are formed in both launcher bodysections 12 and 13.

An angular lever is mounted for rocking movement in the recessedportions 28 and 36 and is pivotally mounted at its apex by a pivot pin33 at the rear end of the recessed portion 28. Said lever includes anarm 34 extending downwardly from the pivot 33 through the recessedportion 30 and to substantially below the underside of said receiver 16,and which arm 34 forms a trigger. The other arm 35 extends forwardlyfrom the pivot 33 longitudinally of the recessed portion 28 and has anupturned forward end 36 which extends upwardly through the opening 29and forms a sear. A small compression spring 37 is mounted in the socket31 and bears against the underside of a portion of the lever arm 35 tourge said lever arm 35 and the sear 36 upwardly about the pivot 33 andto urge the trigger 34 to swing forwardly. A handgrip 38, formedpartially by each body section 12 and 13, extends downwardly from thereceiver 1 6, between the recessed portion 36 and bore 32 and which isnormally disposed behind and spaced from the exposed free end of thetrigger 34.

A plunger, designated generally 39, includes an elongated bar 40 whichfits slidably and nonrotatably in the opening 27. The bottom edge of thebar 40 is provided with longitudinally spaced notches 41 to beselectively engaged by the tip or nose of the sear 36. Said bar 40 has adisc shaped head 42 at its rear end which'fits slidably in the chamber26 and which supports the notched bottom edge of the bar 40 out ofengagement with the lower end of the opening 27. The forward end of thebar 40 is fixed to the central portion of the convex rear side of a cupshaped plunger head 43 which is slidably mounted in the barrel bore 20andwhich has a concave forward side. A disc 44 of metal or other rigidmaterial is mounted on the bar 40 and bears against the rear side of theplunger head 43 to provide an abutment for the forward end of acompression spring 45 which is disposed loosely around said bar 40 andloosely within the rear portion of the bore 20. The rear end of thespring 45 seats against the rear end of the bore 20. The periphery ofthe plunger head 43 is provided with circumferentially spaced forwardlyprojecting lugs or fingers 46. As seen in Figure 6, the disc 42 isprovided with a downwardly opening notch 47 which is wider than the sear36.

A pump, designated generally 48, includes an elongated slide 49 which isreciprocably mounted in the slot 23 and which has upper ribs 50 andlower ribs 51 projecting from opposite sides thereof. The ribs 50 and 51extend longitudinally of the slide 49 and slidably engage in the guidegrooves 24 and 25, respectively, for slidably connecting said slide tothe guides 22 to prevent rocking movement of the slide relative thereto.The slide 49 is provided with a grip 52 which extends downwardly fromthe slot 23. The slide 49 has an elongated forward end portion 53 whichis substantially narrower than the remainder of said slide and which isdisposed forwardly of the ribs 56 and 51 and above the level of saidlower ribs 51. The pump 48 includes a dished piston 54 which is sized tofit slidably in the bore 20, as seen in Figures 3 and 4, and which has aconcave rear side and a convex forward side. The piston 54 has abifurcated rigid extension 55 which projects downwardly from a part ofthe periphery thereof and which fits loosely in the slot 23. Lower endsof the furcations of said bifurcated extension 55 are provided withoutwardly projecting pins 56 which slidably engage the lower guidegrooves 25, and the forward part of the restricted slide portion 53 fitsloosely between the upper portions of said furcations and is pivotallyconnected thereto by a pivot pin 57. As best seen in Figure 3, the lowerguide grooves 25 have upwardly and forwardly inclined forward endportions 58 which extend upwardly beyond the forward ends of the upperguide grooves 24 and which may include straight forward end portions 58which are disposed forwardly of and substantially in alignment with saidupper guide grooves 24. p

The bottom portion of the barrel 14, forwardly of the guides 22 and theforward groove portions 58, is provided in the bottom thereof with acircular concave depression 59, of a diameter corresponding to thediameter of the bore 20, the bottom of which is formed by transverselyspaced longitudinally extending bars 60 which are relatively narrow soas to form therebetween slots 61 of considerable width. Said barrelcavity 59 is formed partially in the lower half of the bore 20, as seenin Figures 2, 3 and 8, and is disposed in close proximity to the muzzle21.

Assuming that the pump 48 is in the position as seen in Figure 3 andthat the launcher is being held with one hand of the user grasping thegrip 38 and the other hand engaging the grip 52, forward pressure on thegrip 52 will move the pivot 57 from its position of Figure 3 toward itsmore forward position of Figure 2 and will cause the pins 56 to travelup the inclined groove portions 58. This upward travel of the pins 56will cause the piston 54 to swing clockwise about its pivot 57 as it ismoved forwardly from its position of Figure 3, so that said piston willassume a position seated in the recess 59, as seen in Figures 2 and 8.With the piston 54 thus disposed and with the plunger 39 in a forwardposition, as seen in Figure 2, the muzzle 21 is pushed into a mass ofsnow to fill the forward part of the bore 20 and it is then withdrawnfrom the mass of snow. A rearward pull is then exerted on the grip 52for causing the pivot 57 to move rearwardly and the pins 56 to sliderearwardly down the inclined groove portions 58 for swinging the piston54 counterclockwise from its position of Figure 2 toward its position ofFigure 3, for picking up the mass of snow, disposed above the piston 54,when-positioned in the recess 59, so that the mass of snow will bedisposed behind said piston when the piston assumes its upright positionof Figure 3. A further pull on the grip 52 will move the piston 54rearwardly and propel the snow rearwardly and into engagement with theconcave forward side of the plunger head 43. Continued rearward movementof the pump piston 54 will compress the snow between said piston and theplunger head 43 and will thereafter force said plunger head and the bar40 rearwardly. The nose of the sear 36 will be cammed out of each notch41 as the bar 40 moves rearwardly and said sear will engage one of theforward notches 41 for latching the plunger 39 in a retracted, cockedposition, as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 3, with the spring 45compressed. The pump mechanism 48 is then manually moved forward toreturn the piston 54 to its seated position in the recess 59. Thecompressed mass of snow 62 will remain in engagement with the forwardside of the plunger head 43 when the piston 54 is manually displacedforwardly, due to a part of the compressed snow mass or projectile 62adhering to the fingers 46.

The launcher 10 is then held similar to a rifle with the butt of thestock 15 against the shoulder, with one hand engaging the grip 38 andthe other hand engaging the grip 52. A finger or fingers of the handengaging the grip 38 engage around the trigger 34 and a squeezingpressure will swing the trigger 34 rearwardly about the pivot 33 to drawthe sear 36 downwardly to a released position out of engagement with oneof the notches 41 so that the spring 45 can project the plunger 39forwardly for propelling the snow projectile 62 forwardly through thebore 20 and outwardly of the muzzle 21. The notch 47 is provided to passover the nose of the sear when said sear nose is drawn downwardly torelease the plunger 39 and so that the head 42 can strike the front wall63 of the chamber 26 without contacting the sear 36.

Water from any snow melting within the launcher 10 can drain therefromthrough the slot 23, through the bore 32 and through the opening 61. Anadditional drainage bore 64 may be provided to extend downwardly fromthe extreme rear end of the barrel bore 20.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resortedto, without departing from the function or scope of the invention ashereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A snowball maker and launcher comprising a launcher body having anelongated barrel provided with an open muzzle end, a spring projectedplunger including a plunger head mounted for longitudinal slidingmovement in a rear part of the bore of said barrel, a combinationtrigger and sear pivotally mounted in the launcher body for latching theplunger in a retracted, cocked position, a pump unit including a slide,means slidably connecting said slide to a part of the launcher body formovement longitudinally of the barrel, a piston having a size and shapesubstantially corresponding to the cross sectional size and shape of thebarrel bore and forming a part of said pump unit, meanspivotailyconnecting a part of said piston to said slide, means slidablyconnecting the piston to a part of the launcher body and combining withthe means connecting the piston to said slide for maintaining the pistonin a position with-in the barrel and crosswise thereof for slidingmovement toward and away from the plunger head and for causing thepiston to swing outwardly and dovmwardly relative to the axis of thebarrel as the piston approaches a forwardmost position adjacent themuzzle, and said barrel having a recess adjacent the muzzle thereof inwhich the piston seats in its forwardmost position.

2. A snowball maker and launcher as in claim. 1, said piston having aconcave rear side and said plunger head having a concave forward side,between which sides a mass of snow is adapted to be compressed to form aprojectile and for forcing the spring projected plunger rear- Wardlywhen the pump piston is displaced rearwardly in the barrel.

3. A snowball maker and launcher as in claim 1, said launcher bodyhaving spaced walls forming guide members extending longitudinally ofthe barrel and providing a longitudinally extending slot opening intosaid barrel and outwardly of the launcher body, said slide beingreciprocably mounted in said guide slot, said walls having groovesopening into the guide slot, said slide having ribs projecting laterallytherefrom and slidably engaging in said grooves, said piston having anextension projecting into said guide slot and connected to said slidefor forming said means pivotal'ly connecting the slide and piston, andsaid means slidably connecting the piston to the launcher body includingpins projecting laterally from the piston extension and inwardly openinggrooves formed in said walls and slidably engaged by said pins, saidlast mentioned grooves having upwardly and forwardly inclined forwardportions for causing outward swinging movement of the piston within thebarrel during the latter part of the forward movement of the piston.

4. In combination with an elongated launcher body including a barrelhaving an open muzzle end, a spring projected plunger unit slidablymounted in a rear portion of the bore of the barrel and spring urgedforwardly to a projected position, and a manually actuated combinationtrigger and sear unit for releasably latching the plunger unit in aretracted, cocked position; a pump unit including a piston disposed forsliding movement within the barrel and longitudinally thereof, saidpiston having a size and shape substantially corresponding to the crosssectional size and shape of the barrel bore, a manually actuated slideslidably connected to the launcher body, means pivotally connecting thepiston to the slide, said piston being displaceable rearwardly in thebarrel for moving a mass of snow rearwardly within the barrel and forcompressing the mass of snow between the piston and a head, constitutingthe forward end of the plunger, and for thereafter displacing theplunger rearwardly to a retracted cocked position, means slidablyconnecting the piston to the launcher body and cooperating with thepivotal connection of the piston and slide for swinging the pistonoutwardly of the barrel bore at the forward extremity of movement ofsaid piston.

5. A combination as defined by claim 4, wherein said launcher body isprovided with a recess located adjacent the barrel muzzle in which saidpiston seats in the forward extremity of movement thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,146,753 Dickey July 13, 1915 1,381,639 Hess June 14, 1921 2,521,083Nasello Sept. 5, 1950 2,607,333 ODell Aug. 19, 1952

